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Dr Jake Bishop

Jake Bishop Headshot

Areas of interest

My research on plant-environment interactions combines physiology and ecology with the aim of improving agricultural productivity and sustainability in a changing climate. My group uses diverse approaches including experimentation in the field and in controlled environments, mathematical modelling, data-analyses, and evidence synthesis using meta-analysis.

Specific areas of interest include:

  • Pollination ecology and crop production
  • Role of biodiversity and ecosystem services
  • Ecological intensification
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Agricultural diversity
  • Abiotic stress impacts

Postgraduate supervision

PhD Students

  • Arisede Chisaka. Addressing the challenge of combined heat and drought stress for cereal production. Primary supervisor. BBSRC DTP FoodBioSystems CASE with Syngenta.
  • Meena Jagait. Climate change adaptation strategies for farmers in the Peruvian Andes. Co-supervisor. NERC DTP Scenario.
  • Anisa Aubin. An empirical, data driven, model for wheat cultivars and optimisation for future climate scenarios. Co-supervisor. Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
  • Emmeline Smith. Strengthening links between agri-environment management and pollination services for cost-effective bee conservation. Primary Supervisor. NERC DTP Scenario.“
  • “Fathema Rana. Quantifying impacts of extreme climatic events on bees and butterflies in Britain. Co-supervisor. NERC DTP Scenario.
  • Louis Samuel. Unpicking the causes of infertility in wheat triggered by temperature stress. Co-supervisor. BBSRC DTP FoodBioSystems

Completed PhD Students

  • Dr Stuart Edwards. Pests, plants and parasitoids: how does climate variability affect tri-trophic interactions in apple orchards? (2017-2022, Primary Supervisor)
  • Dr Richard Gantlett. High biomass rotation and its impacts on soil health, weed burden and crop production (2014-2021, Co-supervisor) 
  • Dr Caroline Harkness. Optimising agriculture for a changing climate: which farming practices confer stability of food production and farm income? (2018-2022, Primary supervisor)
  • Dr Caitlin McLaughlin. Maximising the environmental benefits of gardens through optimal planting choices and understanding of occupants' engagement. Primary supervisor. NERC DTP Scenario CASE with Royal Horticultural Society

Teaching

  • Programme director of MSc by Research in Agriculture, Ecology and Environment
  • Module convenor for Research Skills in Agriculture, Ecology and Environment (ADMRES), and Research Project: Agriculture, Ecology and Environment (ADMREP). Co-convenor for Climate Smart Agriculture (AD3CSA/ADMCSA)
  • Lecturer on Crop Physiology, Nutrition and Protection (AD1CNP)

Research projects

Postdocs:

  • Dr Simone Pfuderer. Postdoc for Raising the Pulse, work package 5.

Current projects:

  • Raising the Pulse: systems analysis of the environmental, nutritional and health benefits of pulse-enhanced foods. I am responsible for coordinating work on systems modelling and work understanding sources of yield variability in faba bean and interactions with pollinating insects. UKRI Transforming Food Systems (2022-2025, Co-I, WP5 lead)
  • Enhancing transformative resilience of fruit and vegetable provision for UK consumers. I am responsible for developing and testing different transformative portfolios of UK fruit and vegetable production to build resilience to a number of risks. UKRI (2024-2027, Co-I, WP3 lead).
  • Values and dependence of society on pollinators (VALOR). I am responsible for modelling relationships between pollination and crop yield across seven focal regions in Europe. EU Horizon CL6. (2025-2028, Co-I and task lead).

Recent projects:

  • Simfarm2030: optimising wheat cultivar selection in a changing climate. I provided expertise on crop-climate interactions in a project that developed a model for existing and new UK wheat cultivars in response to current and future climate conditions. STFC Food Network+ (2019, PI)
  • Developing a network to improve productivity and nutritional value of Kenyan grain amaranth. I provided crop science expertise in a project that collected preliminary data on genetic and environmental factors affecting grain amaranth production and nutritional value. Funded by GCRF (2018-2019, Co-I)
  • Future farms: redesigning crop landscapes. I am providing expertise in crop-climate interactions. The project aims to improve advice for farmers about climate change risks and environmental impacts of crop production. STFC Food Network+ (2022-2023, Co-I)

Publications

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